Sex secrets of SA’s young people

(Fille photo) At UCT, which will be able to accommodate 4 200 first-year students, tuition fees for 2015 will ranges from R43 000 to R64 500. Picture: Ross Jansen

Durban - They find love on the internet, they stay true to their one love and size does matter.

This is the youth of South Africa, according to the latest sex poll.

The Young Africa Live’s (YAL’s) Youth Sex Poll has been released and it paints a picture of South Africa’s youth of being perhaps a little conventional when it comes to matters of the bed and heart.

The survey found that two thirds or 65.3 percent of respondents said they had a single long-term partner or were abstaining from sex until marriage.

Interestingly, 43 percent said penis size did count.

A quarter of respondents admitted to engaging in multiple sexual relationships but said they always used a condom. The organisers of the poll said users showed maturity of understanding about HIV and Aids with 89.4 percent saying that the disease was not a death sentence, but that sufferers could live a long and healthy life despite being infected.

One in 10 of those who took part in the survey admitted to never using a condom.

Most did say they believed it was the responsibility of men and women to carry condoms.

“While not a scientific survey, the opinion poll provides a powerful snapshot into important aspects of sexual knowledge and behaviour in the lives of Young Africa Live’s Youth Sex Poll users, a not inconsequential group of young South Africans,” said Gustav Praekelt, founder of Praekelt Foundation.

The poll was run through cellphones from December 1 to 31.

Most respondents were female, aged between 19 to 24. Most lived in townships, followed by rural areas, then cities and small towns.

Nearly half said that they had had between one and five partners in their lifetime.

“The Young Africa Live’s Sex Opinion Poll is an important tool for us to shape the content and discussions that we will be creating for the platform in the coming year.

“Our users’ input is at the heart of YAL,” said Pippa Yeats, Praekelt Foundation’s strategist. -